nikon p80 just out of the box
I’ve finally uploaded some p80 sample shots to the gallery. No processing on any of these (though some could use it). EXIF data is visible. Clicking the bottom center of any image will open a new window containing the full-size file for your examination. Watch out though, they’re huge.
Hoping to duplicate an ordinary buyer’s initial experience with the P80, I deliberately did not read the manual. And it shows. But even without a clue how to get the best from the camera, the p80 still does okay. More on that in another post.
The p80 does well in good light at low ISO settings. Not so well at higher ISOs. And there’s some fringing evident at extreme zoom in high contrast scenes. Both characteristics should be expected from any camera whether digital or film. They’re characteristics that can be overcome when you get to know the camera. But that’s not gonna happen unless you study the manual and experiment before expecting to make superb pictures.
The p80 is capable of much better pix than what you’ll see in my week-one gallery, as Marti’s shots here and here clearly demonstrate.
More about how your p80 can realize stunning pix like those in a few days… once I get some housekeeping for this site out of the way and have a chance to play around with the camera a bit more.
What would you like to see here? Post your questions and requests in the comments.
Others are saying...
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Stanley Broadwin said 15 June 2008 …
Compared image sharpness and clarity of the P80, my D80 and Canon G9
D80 and G9 were perfect. P80 image was soft.
... to which Bob replies...
Thanks Stanley! Comparing the P80 to the G9 is a valid comparison, but comparing the P80 to a D80 (or _any_ DSLR) is absurd. No way a 1/2" sensor (in the P80) can deliver anything like the quality of a sensor more than 220% larger. Even a D40 with only 6mp will outperform a P80 because of the larger sensor. So let's compare apples to apples, okay?
The Canon PowerShot G9 is a great camera. For about $100 more than the P80 you get a flash hot shoe and RAW output. Those can be important to some folks. Indeed they were features I hoped to find, but the G9's price tag put it out of my allocated budget.
How long did you have the P80? I'm finding that sharpness and clarity are not an issue if you learn how to use the P80. Nikon's default settings are a bit soft. But the camera can easily correct for that softness _in the camera_.
Would love to see some side-by-side shots of the two models. If you have them (or if anyone else has some), please post a link so we can all get a look.
Sinu said 20 July 2008 …
Hi,
I have a Nikon P80 and its a pretty good camera. Day light shots are sharp and the colors come out pretty impressive. At low aperture values, It can blur the background and give crystal clarity to Image in close focus. It does that pretty neatly with a professional touch. It also features a 1/2000” to 8” shutter speed. Basically you can do anything while taking pictures in montion. Even capture a Bullet in action ! Yea, apart from the relatively small sensor when compared with a true DSLR and not being able to use Different types of lenses this is a very good camera. I found the image good even at ISO 400 but at Maximum ISO setting of 6400, the picture produces noise. I love this camera. This is my first investment in a prosumer camera and No Regrets. Worth the Money!
Cheers
Sinu
Walt Watson said 21 July 2008 …
I like this camera for many reasons. I wished sports mode was better though.
Sports mode is fast. But there are lots of artifacts such as high ISO noise, and saturated columns if there are sun glints:
I guess the electronic shuttering allows these artifacts to slip through in this mode. My Konica Minolta Z3 has a sports mode with out these artifacts.
Richard Oaten said 4 August 2008 …
Hi,
Thank goodness for this website.
I’v been looking around the net for information on the P80 and haven’t found very much (and what I did find didn’t seem right to me). I’d seen some excellent sample images from various sites but the (so called) reviews seemed to do nothing but rubbish the camera! The images looked better IMHO than the Sony DSC-H50 and even the brand new Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28, so I couldn’t understand this negative attitude towards the P80. It seems there is so much nonsense spoken with regard to these kind of cameras and that nothing but an DSLR will do, but I think the time has come this snobbery to be laid to rest!
Thank you for an excellent site!
p80bob said 6 August 2008 …
Richard,
IMO the p80 “reviews” I’ve seen online aren’t worthy of the word “review.”
As I indicated here, the great majority of them appear to be written by people who spent a few minutes with the camera and made a snap judgment based on an incorrect assumption of what the camera actually is.
Pama said 20 August 2008 …
Thanks for this blog.
I have few questions to share.
can we add extra lenses to P80?
p80bob said 21 August 2008 …
Thanks for your question, Pama.
Nikon doesn’t make any add-on lenses for the P80 and when I asked them about that they were very negative, almost rude.
I don’t know of any third-party lenses made specifically for the P80, although you could mount a Raynox 250 on the camera for extreme macro shots. Here's where to get more info about the Raynox DCR 250
Artuto Fukuda explains how he used it with his p80 at this page. That page is in Spanish, but google will translate it for you here
If I find or hear of any other p80 add-ons I'll add a post about them to the blog.
stacy said 2 December 2008 …
how should I set my camera for taking high school soccer shots in sun and cloudy days? Also when I take surfing pictures? I live in Callifornia.
kian said 2 April 2009 …
How is the best way to blur the background while the main object stays sharply focused?
thx.
p.s.
love my p80, though the photos taken with flash look odd!! ( especially faces). yet to find a digital camera that can take a good flash photo!! why is that??
p80bob replies...
Thanks for your question, Kian. The background blur you're taliking about (known as "bokeh") is created by using a large aperture to reduce the depth of field of the image. To achieve it, set your p80 to "A" mode -- aperture priority -- then adjust the f-stop for the lowest number you can get.
To answer your second question... there's no such thing as a good flash photo from any camera which uses a pop-up flash. Doesn't matter what camera you use, a pop-up flash will always yield inferior results. There are several reasons why this is so. Two of the biggest reasons are:
The only way to make a "good" photo using flash is to use a flash (or two or three) that can be mounted off-camera, or that mounts on-camera and can be adjusted so the light bounces off a wall or ceiling. Ideally you'll want to use several flashes, the first as your main light, and then one or two more to create a more natural looking photo by filling in the dark spots.
If you want to learn more about using flash or creating "bokeh" in your photos, some of these... would be great guides to start with.
Peace,
--Bob